Miracles and Setbacks

This week has been a very crazy week. We have seen many miracles and a minor set back. On Monday we moved into an apartment that is more central to our area and also to save miles. It was so sad to leave the Johnston’s because we love them so much. Our apartment is in a perfect spot and we have seen some great miracles from it! On Tuesday, the day after, we were jogging around the complex and a woman came up to me and asked if I wanted a Mary Kay magazine. I said that I would love to but I cannot as I am a missionary for my church. She looked at me and said “From the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint”? I said yes we just moved in. She asked where we moved in to and I told her then she abruptly ended the conversation and left. Two hours later we get a knock on our door and it was her! Sister Wassinik, in her marine uniform, had been thinking about coming back to church but didn’t know how to find out where the church was located. We have seen so many wonderful miracles from our move and have saved tons of miles and just might make it through this month.

Another Miracle is Stephany. Today she is currently flying to California. Argh! I am going to miss her so much. Everyday we have visited her and got her excited for the adventure in Maywood. Yesterday we had our last lesson and both me and Sister Theurer felt prompted to have a mini testimony meeting. It was so wonderful. I love her so much and I am so sad to see her go but I know that we were suppose to meet her and she is suppose to go to Maywood and be part of the congregation there. She is going to make a great member of that ward. They need her there.

On Friday we had dinner and a lesson with Tricia. It was so sad. Last Sunday she did not come to church and we found out that it was because her husband yelled at her and said that he really will divorce her if she becomes a member. It was so sad. She is so scared. We have been praying about it a lot lately. We are still going to visit her and teach her but we are putting her more in the Relief Society hands. They have been taking good care of her. She has so many wonderful friends of the church.

I am still studying consecration and the talk ‘Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father’. I have gained so much insight from the talk it is amazing. One part in particular has been a source of comfort these past few days:

 As one’s will is increasingly submissive to the will of God, he can receive inspiration and revelation so much needed to help meet the trials of life. In the trying and very defining Isaac episode, faithful Abraham “staggered not … through unbelief” (Rom. 4:20). Of that episode John Taylor observed that “nothing but the spirit of revelation could have given him this confidence, and … sustained him under these peculiar circumstances” (in Journal of Discourses, 14:361). Will we too trust the Lord amid a perplexing trial for which we have no easy explanation? Do we understand—really comprehend—that Jesus knows and understands when we are stressed and perplexed? The complete consecration which effected the Atonement ensured Jesus’ perfect empathy; He felt our very pains and afflictions before we did and knows how to succor us (see Alma 7:11–12; 2 Ne. 9:21). Since the Most Innocent suffered the most, our own cries of “Why?” cannot match His. But we can utter the same submissive word “nevertheless …” (Matt. 26:39).

 Heavenly Father is so aware of us. Of course, He sent His son to Atone for us. I am learning so much about the Atonement and about how much He truly, truly cares for each of us.

Miracles with Young Men, Stephany, Young Women and Consecration

            This week has been an adventure. On Monday, we accidently tracted into a part-member family who just moved into the ward. The mother wants us to begin teaching her son the missionary lessons! Heavenly Father does answer prayers. We have been praying for young men aged people to begin investigating because our ward does not have many young men. Cordell is 13 years old! On Wednesday while checking on a potential investigator we met his grandson Darell who is 16 years old! And tonight we have an appointment with a potential that is 17 years old. Heavenly Father has shown so many times that if we have a righteous desire and truly work to accomplish it, He will provide.

            Another miracle is one of our investigator’s Stephany, who is moving to California on the 26^th, came to church and had such a great time. She even bore her testimony in Relief Society. Her heart has been prepared and I know that she will be a wonderful addition to the ward in Maywood. She is so pure and so humble. She taught us what it means to repent! She is spiritually amazing.

            On Thursday we taught the Young Women about missionary work. It was so fun to be there again. I love the Young Women’s program. I know that when I was in Young Women I felt important and loved. The girls here are different from each other yet they are together and they love each other. They can share their testimony and their trials. They can and are a source of strength and support.

            This week I have been studying the word ‘Consecration’ and I have been implementing that into my life. It is a process, definitely nothing that can be done overnight. It is a submission of will. I am striving everyday to submit my will to His to allow for me to change my heart and become the person that He needs me to be. I am not even close to being there but it is the striving that matters. In the talk “Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father” by Elder Neal A. Maxwell he says:

Whenever Church members speak of consecration, it should be done reverently while acknowledging that each of us “come[s] short of the glory of God,” some of us far short (Rom. 3:23). Even the conscientious have not arrived, but they sense the shortfall and are genuinely striving. Consolingly, God’s grace flows not only to those “who love [Him] and keep all [His] commandments,” but likewise to those “that [seek] so to do” (D&C 46:9).

I am seeking to keep all of the commandments and most especially to see myself not as whom I am currently but who I can become and then do everything that I can to become that person. I know that Heavenly Father loves me despite my faults and will continue to help me to overcome those faults.

Investigators, Church, and The Atonement

This week has been a week of amazing things! We received three new investigators! It is so amazing. This work really is hastening. I have learned a lot about Sister Theurer she and I are a lot alike! It is so awesome. We have been able to help each other and strengthen each other. I love this work so much. I am so excited to continue to work with her and help her.

 We had a miracle dinner with a less-active in our ward. She previously was really mean to me and Sister Patten when we were here and then when Sister Silva and I visited her last transfer she invited us over for dinner the next time that we were in the area. Sister Theurer and I took her up on that offer on Thursday and sat down with her. She was so nice and so open and we were able to share a message with her.

 The lesson in Relief Society yesterday really struck a cord with me. It all started in Gospel Principles when Elder Canova (zone leader) shared that we often look at ourselves as not being good enough or just looking down on ourselves. That is so true. I am so much like that. Then in Relief Society Sister Hurlburt gave a lesson on ‘Seeing Others Not as They Are but as They Can Become.’ It really did help me. Sister Theurer and I got to bear our testimony of missionary work and seeing others as they can become and the entire time I just thought about how far I have come and how much further I have to go. Heavenly Father loves us even when we do not love ourselves. Heavenly Father is so aware of us.

 During my studies I have been focusing on the power of the Atonement. I cannot write all of the things that I have discovered but some of my thoughts flow towards the thoughts behind the act itself. Christ came to Earth knowing that He would die. He came here on a conscious of dying so young. Yet, He continued to come, continued to teach knowing full well that his teaching would be the cause of his death. I am so grateful for my Savior being so kind to give his life for me. I am so grateful for all that He did for me.